Last weekend we decided to pop over to Muscat for a little trip. Muscat is somewhere I’ve always wanted to go to and now that I’m spending a lot of time in Dubai, it’s almost on our doorstep!

First stop Fujairah

It’s a long drive to Muscat from Dubai (5 or 6 hours) so we decided to start off on Thursday night with a short 1.5 hour drive over the desert and hills to Fujairah, another of the United Arab Emirates. Fujairah has the second largest mosque in the UAE. A very impressive looking structure.

On Friday morning we headed down the coast towards Muscat and arrived just in time for a late lunch at our hotel overlooking the Indian ocean. The drive was easy but not particularly scenic. Unfortunately the road runs a couple of kilometres in from the sea, so there are no lovely costal views en route.

Hello Muscat

Muscat is the capital of Oman and it’s a big contrast to Dubai. Dubai is all bling and high-rise skyscrapers and Muscat is low rise, white washed and much older looking. In the Muttrah Souk area we thought it had a look of old Spain about it.

Here I am with my current travelling bag of choice, the mini shoulder bag in soft grey sheep nappa leather. It’s one of my smallest bag designs but there’s room for all the essentials. I use this size of bag quite often when travelling.

Souk Shopping

The old Souk in Muttrah is down by the harbour and it’s a maze of little passageways, some covered and some outside but all crammed with tiny shops selling everything from fabric and textiles (my favourite) to herbs & spices and frankincense.

It’s very different from the modern built souks in Dubai and Sharjah and it all seems much less touristy. A very nice shopping experience, especially once you get away from the main passageways and head off down one of the many narrow lanes.

Night Lights

Back to the hotel in the evening to cool off (the temperature went down to around 31C at night after being up at 39C in the day) and enjoy the fabulous views over Muscat and the Indian Ocean.

This is somewhere I definitely want to go back to now that I’ve seen just a little bit of it 🙂